Overview

MECCA’s Stigma Reduction Through the Arts Project is based upon the foundation of reducing behavioral and mental health disparities through reducing the associated stigma surrounding mental illness. MECCA believes that a positive impact can be made on reducing mental health stigma through artistic exhibits/events by providing community members with “a different lens through which they view those with a mental illness”. Multicultural artistic events provide multi-ethnic communities the opportunity to come together as one to educate the broader community about mental health stigma reduction. Artistic expression of thoughts, emotions, and attitudes through a variety of mediums provides the general public the opportunity to view mental health issues through a consumer perspective in an effort to counteract stereotypes, dispel prejudice, discrimination, and negative attitudes contributing to the stigma.

The Components of the Stigma Arts Project include:

Community-based culturally and linguistically specific arts workshops called “Drawing out the Stigma:

Community exhibits showcasing artistic expressions from the workshops specific to each ethnic community

Educational video documentary demonstrating the success of using the arts and art therapy to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness

The Goals of the Stigma Arts Project are to:

Explore the stigma of mental illness, both from a consumer perspective and from a culturally competent community-based perspective, through an expression of the arts

Acknowledge the presence of stigma and increase mental health awareness through a collaborative effort by bringing communities together and finding community-based creative solutions to address this stigma

Reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness in a culturally competent manner through advocacy, wellness, and recovery

The Stigma Reduction through the Arts Project is an exciting, multi-media and multi-generational project which culminates in a large-scale annual festival where ethnic communities from across the county come together in a multicultural celebration aimed at reducing the stigma of mental illness.

For more information about this program, please contact us at programs@ocmecca.org